Vital victory on final day
Nine difficult months came down to over 100 minutes of nail-biting tension in N17 and in the end, it was a Joao Palhinha goal on the stroke of half-time that separated the sides. It might have been only our first home league win since December and only our third all season, but what a time to get it.
Elsewhere across London, our rivals for relegation West Ham United did their job and beat Leeds United to ensure we couldn’t afford defeat against Everton. And, while we had a lead to hold on to, we defended it for our lives. We went deep into stoppage time, 102 minutes to be precise, with the Toffees throwing everything at us in the final minutes. But we held out, held on to the three points and when the final whistle sounded, euphoria erupted inside the stadium, players sunk to their knees in a combination of exhaustion and delight and a huge collective sigh of relief was breathed.
Roberto De Zerbi arrived in mid-April to try to steady the ship and did exactly that, taking charge for seven games – winning three, drawing two and losing two – rounding off with this huge result over Everton to get us over the line.
On a searingly hot May day – one of the hottest on record – the atmosphere was superb out on the High Road to greet the team coach arrival and that carried on inside the stadium as the fans rose to the occasion. That lifted the players as we were the much better team for the majority of the game, making a great start with three early chances. On six minutes, the ball was floated into the box, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane got in each other’s way and it eventually fell to Conor Gallagher but he could only fire into the side-netting. We continued to set the pace and four minutes later, won a corner which landed at the feet of Kevin Danso who drilled wide from eight yards out before a Pedro Porro free-kick flicked off a head and went to Palhinha at the back post but he fired way over the crossbar.
Everton’s first sight of goal came in the 22nd minute after a James Garner free-kick wide on their right which was flicked well wide by a visiting head in the middle. A brief drinks break followed due to the stifling heat and when we got back underway, it was a more even contest with the weather perhaps taking an early toll.
The tricky Iliman Ndiaye threatened with a mazy run just after the half-hour but his final shot was blocked while, at the other end, Danso’s header from a corner trickled through to Pickford with Richarlison lurking. Mathys Tel then struck a curling effort that looked to be troubling Pickford had it not struck the head of James Tarkowksi.
Just two minutes before the break though, elation inside the stadium as we took the lead. Gallagher was fouled out by the corner flag down our left, Porro’s free-kick was headed against the post by Palhinha but he was quickest to the rebound and poked it past Pickford, with Thierno Barry unable to prevent it from just crossing the line. It was the perfect time to score and we went into the interval with everything looking good.
After a delayed restart due to the match officials’ equipment not working properly, we almost added a second in the 48th minute when Djed Spence hit a shot towards the bottom corner which Pickford spilled, the ball rolling out just past his post.
News filtered through just after the hour mark that West Ham had opened the scoring in their game which added another layer of intrigue to the afternoon and it came during a period of the game in which Everton were starting to enjoy more possession, even if Antonin Kinsky wasn’t being tested in goal.
As the game entered its final minutes, it had reached the stage where it was all about managing it correctly rather than trying to force another goal and we brought on fresh legs to help, including James Maddison in an attempt to get some control of the closing stages.
Instead, we almost conceded with five minutes remaining when Carlos Alcaraz slipped in Tyrique George, he pulled the ball across the six-yard box when confronted by Kinsky but our defenders were back to thwart the danger and Kinsky gathered the ball. As the final whistle sounded at the London Stadium, we had nine more minutes to negotiate and the visitors had another half-chance when Keane’s header only just cleared the crossbar.
We were really struggling to keep the ball and continued to invite the pressure and there were hearts in mouths when George cut inside off the left and whipped a shot which was heading to the top corner until Kinsky’s stunning diving save tipped it over the bar. Eventually, the final whistle was blown and survival was rubber-stamped.
Match data
Spurs (4-2-3-1): Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Danso, van de Ven (c), Udogie (Dragusin 90), Bentancur (Gray 82), Palhinha, Spence, Gallagher (Maddison 82), Tel (Sarr 73), Richarlison (Kolo Muani 73). Substitutes (not used): Vicario, Bergvall, Bissouma, Solanke.
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford, O’Brien (Armstrong 63), Tarkowski (c), Keane, Mykolenko, Iroegbunam (Coleman 84), Garner, Rohl (George 62), Dewsbury-Hall (Alcaraz 84), Ndiaye, Barry (Beto 84). Substitutes (not used): Travers, McNeil, Dibling, Aznou.
Match data
Goal: Spurs – Palhinha 43.
Yellow cards: Spurs – Sarr, Palhinha, Kinsky; Everton – O’Brien, Tarkowski.
Referee: Michael Oliver.
Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Weather: Sunny and light winds, 30 degrees.
